


Life as Chocobos

by Verlerious



Series: Chocobo Life [3]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Chocobos, Cute, M/M, Possible smut later
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-18
Updated: 2019-07-07
Packaged: 2019-10-31 00:37:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,768
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17839076
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Verlerious/pseuds/Verlerious
Summary: The final part to the Chocobo Life series.  It's happening again, but who will it effect this time last time?  And how in the world will they change back?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Tried my best to separate them. If it's _**"bold and italics"**_ then it's chocobo speech. Hopefully it doesn't get confusing. You'll see as you read it. x.x

Life as Chocobos 1

It couldn't have happened. It shouldn't have happened. But it did happen. There was no denying it as he looked down flapping his own little yellow wings before he looked across from him at an equally tiny black chocobo staring at him with a startled expression.

How…? Why…? When…?

Maybe this was all just a dream. It was all in his head. After all, he had just been drinking…granted it'd only been coffee. The others were sleeping right now but he'd found it hard for him to rest. He'd been thinking about that last exchange, the last moment when Gladio had rested his hand against his chest and accused him of liking him. He kept wondering what might have happened if Prompto hadn't shown up at that moment.

His dreams lately had played out plenty of different scenarios from Ignis slapping Gladio's cheek and receiving a hurt look in return leading to Ignis feeling guilty the next day to Gladio kissing him shocking Ignis into waking up…and feeling just as guilty as the slap left him. But this last time resulted in things going further, things going down a path Ignis didn't expect and wasn't sure he was even ready for.

And thus he'd woken up in the middle of the night with the need to rest a damp, cold rag against his face to help curve the feeling of blood rushing rampant in his body. It didn't help in certain areas but it did help to get his bearings together. It was how he found Noctis who'd surprisingly woken up in the middle of the night to find Ignis missing and gone to check up on Ignis located right outside their caravan in Hammerhead.

It was also how the two ended up out grabbing a few drinks from the cooler to drink underneath the stars and how the two now suddenly found themselves in the strange position they were in now.

_**"Ignis?"** _

Ignis blinked his eyes staring towards the black chocobo sitting in the other chair, his head tilting slightly to the side.

_**"Noct?"** _

The black chocobo gave a nod of his head looking around in confusion, the top of his chocobo head seeming almost unruly. It was different from Gladio's own look as a little black chocobo. As for Ignis, he could still see clearly meaning either his vision was 100 percent better or he was wearing glasses still…and couldn't tell because of all the feathers on his face.

_**"Ignis, what happened? Why are we chocobos now?"** _

_**"I'd like to know the same."**_ Ignis frowned deflating on himself as he sat thinking it over. They hadn't drunk any of the strange water this time, he was sure of it. He'd thrown it all out a long time back. And while he'd only drunken his favorite Ebony coffee, Noctis had had something completely different in the form of a soda. For them to drink to completely different things from the cooler meant that it wasn't so much what they were drinking, but where they were obtaining their drinks.

_**"We're throwing the cooler out,"**_ Ignis said, his little birdie glasses giving off a glint from the lamppost as he looked up at Noctis. _**"I believe therein lies our dilemma."**_

_**"But why now?"**_ Noctis closed his eyes with a birdy sigh as he took his turn to deflate. _**"We've been drinking out of it all this time."**_

_**"Perhaps it is a matter of circumstance. The right time, the right day, the right situation can make all the difference."**_ Ignis stood up and moved to jump up on the table struggling a bit with the chunkiness of his body. No wonder Gladio hated this so much. He tried to hold himself up with dignity hating how he could almost see the laugh on Noctis's chubby face. _**"Hopefully the others won't drink anything until the night has passed."**_

Noctis gave a sigh before he stood up stretching his body, winged arms stretching up in the air. _**"Well at least we can understand each other. Prompto didn't seem to have that luck when he'd been with the others back at the chocobo post."**_

_**"And that probably contributes to the fact that he's really human in a chocobo body. He'd only know the English language, not the way of the real birds. It explains why he could still understand our words even though he had no means of being able to really communicate to us."** _

_**"Same with Gladio,"**_ Noctis started wiggling his butt slightly before he took the leap just managing to make it to the table, knocking his soda over in the process. The noise seemed enough to wake up one of the occupants as they heard the door click as the handle was turned.

The door opened and Gladio stepped outside looking around with tired eyes as if searching out the commotion grumping about it being a damn cat. It wasn't until his eyes met those of the two on the table frozen in place like a pair of deer caught rummaging through the garbage that Gladio fully woke up. His mouth gaped open and the only thing to slip from his lips was, "Iggy?"

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Prompto looked down at the two chocobos, his arms folded over his chest as his lips twisted in thought. He couldn't understand a thing the two birds were chirping…but they were definitely cute. Especially Noctis as Prompto found himself almost cooing when he saw the little bird yawn tiredly.

"Focus, Prompto."

"I am focused," Prompto said pouting as he looked up at Gladio. The big guy had found the two of them standing on the table like they'd just been caught sneaking some cake. Prompto looked down watching Ignis chirp something to Noctis before the other responded with a chirp. "…Are you two able to communicate to each other?"

Both birds looked up at him before Ignis turned towards him nodding his head. "Kweh."

"…Oh my god I want to smother him with hugs."

"Please don't kill our Iggy," Gladio said frowning as he reached down picking Ignis up despite the surprised chirp.

"I can't help it! I mean…his glasses! They're so tiny and cute! You can't deny it!"

Gladio looked down at Ignis at the words seeming to stare for a moment before a soft looking smile appeared on his lips. "Well…he is kind of adorable like this." Ignis chirped loudly in disagreement but Prompto found his eyes already going down to the little black chocobo that was leaning over slowly starting to doze off.

"Come on, Noct." He reached down picking up the black chocobo that jumped slightly before looking up at him sleepily. He held him close before looking up at Gladio and Ignis. "Why don't we get some rest for now and work on figuring this out in the morning. It is still the middle of the night."

"Sounds like the best option for now." Gladio walked over sitting Ignis down on Noctis's bed before he sat down in the bed across from him. "It might be better if they share a bed, considering their size."

"Aww but I wanna sleep with Noctis," Prompto said pouting as he hugged Noctis closer, the little bird giving out a small chirp.

"And I don't want to wake up and find out our small prince got squished by your big butt."

"My butt's not big!"

"Yeah yeah." Gladio pointed to the bed. "Just put the prince down and get to sleep. You'll have plenty of time tomorrow to spoil him."

Prompto sighed in defeat starting to walk to the bed. "Fine." He sat Noctis down on the bed beside Ignis looking down at the two of them with a motherly eye. "You two just holler er….squawk out if something happens. We'll be right here." He smiled at them confidently before he reached up pulling himself to climb up on the top bunk. He could honestly admit that he missed snuggling with Noctis, but on the bright side he'd get to have fun dressing Noctis up in adorable clothes. Besides, Noctis had changed him back pretty easily with a simple confession. It shouldn't be hard, right?

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Noctis, I love you."

"…Kweh."

"….I love you, Noctis."

"…Kweh."

"I love love love love love you, Noctis!"

"…Kweh."

"Can you give it a break for a while?" Gladio asked grumbling from the driver's seat having to take over while their other two usual drivers were incapacitated at the time. Prompto had been going at it for over five minutes now, with no more result than Noctis responding in kind with a small chirp. He swore he could feel Prompto's pout from the back sat as he sat babysitting the two chocobos.

"But I mean it has to work, right? It worked when Noct said it."

"Maybe it wasn't so much from him saying it than from the initial surprise you felt when it happened." Gladio frowned slightly as he thought on it. After all, Ignis hadn't said any such words of love to him. But he obviously must have felt something towards him with the way he'd reacted and how he'd been acting around him lately. But he hadn't had much time alone with the guy to figure it out. Not with Ignis always coming up with some excuse to join the others or to run off to "shop for supplies" suddenly. Was Gladio maybe reading too much into his interactions? Speaking of supplies….

"Let's take a break here," Gladio said pulling into a parking spot as they were about to ride through. He was in need of stretching his legs anyway. "No reason we should rush while we're trying to figure out this mess."

"Huh?" Prompto looked up from finishing putting the little sombrero on Noctis's head, the little black chocobo surprisingly docile in his dress up. Though then again, even human Noctis liked finding weird costumes to where from time to time.

"…Quit playing around and let's see about getting a room."

"Fine fine. Don't be such a grumpy behemoth."

Gladio grunted in response before climbing out the driver seat reaching down to stretch his legs. He wasn't used to driving. Hell, he'd usually be hanging out in the back seat napping while they rode to their next destination. Thinking about it, he could have let Prompto drive, but he wasn't taking any chance after the last time the blond had been allowed to drive. Not to mention with Noctis being a chocobo now, he'd never be able to focus.

As he opened the door to the back seat he blinked seeing Ignis hunkered down, eyes closed as if he were asleep. Somehow he could just tell it was Ignis even though the other looked like this. He was adorable even with the little glasses and suddenly Gladio could understand Prompto's urge to dress Noctis up.

"You so want to dress him up, don't you?" Prompto said standing beside him and looking at him grinning.

"Kweh." Noctis was looking up at him too not even fazed, his little sombrero sitting happily on his head.

"Like hell I do," Gladio said denying the urge as he reached in picking up the sleeping Ignis. It must have been a pretty rough night for him. After all, it was rare for Gladio to catch Ignis sleeping. Usually when he woke up for training, the advisor was already up and about preparing breakfast. Actually…when he thought about it, Ignis did a lot to take care of the three of them. Maybe it was good that he was a chocobo now. He'd be able to relax for a little while at least.

"By the way…I'm starved," Prompto said just as his stomach rumbled. Noctis chirped in response nodding as if to say he was hungry too. And now that he thought about it, he was starving. They hadn't bothered to eat anything this morning, didn't think anything of it with Ignis in chocobo limbo at the moment. Glancing around, he saw the options before he grunted. The Crow's Nest…and this area seemed to only have it as an option. No hot dog stand or anything else filling. Just some greasy fish and fries from what he considered to be the worst Crow's Nest in the world. How was this one still open even?

"I'll get us a room. Why don't you grab us a bite to eat and see about buying some chocobo feed for the little guys."

"I can do that!"

"Kweh."

"Yeah, Noct's gonna help too."

Gladio looked down at Noctis. Yeah…he could see how much help he'd be. "Just don't spoil him or he'll be useless when he does turn back."

"Wark!"

"Noct's not useless…he just doesn't like doing a lot of strenuous work."

"Kweh."

Gladio grunted at how easily the chocobo seemed to agree with Prompto. "Whatever. Just get the food and get back here. I'll text you the room number once I get it."

"Sure thing!" Prompto took off heading for the Crow's Nest with his small bundle in hand leaving Gladio to glance down at his own bundle snuggled against his chest. He sure hoped it didn't take a long time to turn the two of them back. He could admit to already missing Ignis's snarky comments and looks that seemed to lecture him without words. Besides, they still had to discuss the "them" part of their chemistry. Basically the fact that Ignis was ignoring him on purpose whenever he tried to bring up what happened that day he changed back. Something changed him back. And he doubted it was just a stroke of luck or just from wanting to protect someone.

"Let's get to the room, pal," Gladio said heading for the inn.

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Kweh…" Ignis found himself blinking his sleepy eyes as he slowly stood up shaking himself slightly. There were a few things he was surprised by when he woke up. One was the fact that he rarely ever fell asleep like this, and especially not into such a state that he was being moved around without his knowledge.

The second was the fact that his small glasses had been removed from his face and when he looked he saw them sitting on the nightstand by the bed. So it meant someone had taken the care to remove them from his face in his sleep. Well it wasn't like he would have rolled over and smashed them but still it couldn't be good to fall asleep in glasses.

The third thing was probably the thing that bothered him the most. He found himself facing the sleeping face of Gladio who, at the moment, had no earthly clue that Ignis was awake and staring at him. He could only indicate that he was sharing a bed with the larger man which really wasn't so bad since Ignis was so small right now. Staring at him longer, he looked peaceful in his sleep. He'd never really looked at the man so close and personal to the point that he could see just how long and beautiful Gladio's eye lashes were. So long in fact that he had an urge to pluck one.

_**"Why don't you just take a picture? It'll last way longer than just staring at him."** _

Ignis jumped at the sound of the voice before he looked over to the other bed seeing Prompto and Noctis staring at him. The one that spoke to him this time of course was Noctis almost looking like he was smirking when he said it.

_**"I'm not staring…I'm just admiring the dust follicles that are gathering on his lashes."**_ If he could have, he would have been pushing his glasses up on his nose.

_**"You do realize admiring could imply that you might actually like Gladio."** _

_**"…You are clearly mistaken in…what is that on your head?"** _

_**"Sombrero."**_ Noctis stood up straight looking proud. _**"Prompto bought it for me."**_

"Hey now, you two aren't arguing are you?" Ignis looked up at the same time Noctis looked back as the two stared at Prompto who was frowning looking between the two of them before they both shook their heads. He gave a sigh. "Good. Man I wish I could understand what you guys are saying."

_**"Trust us when we say we wish you could understand what we are saying too,"**_ Ignis said though the words only came out as a series of chirps to Prompto.

"…I take it that means you agree with me." Sighing, Prompto sat up on the bed reaching down to gently pet Noctis's feathers. "First things first, we gotta figure out how to turn you guys back. I just wish I knew what made you two change in the first place."

Ignis chirped in response. He missed cooking. He also missed taking care of himself. Even if it'd barely been a day he still missed being his normal self. Being in the body of a small bird was going to take some getting used to. Of course looking over at Noctis who'd laid on his side enjoying his belly rub seemed like he had no problems with the new adjustment.

_**"Show a little more dignity, Noctis."** _

_**"I will,"**_ Noctis chirped back peeking an eye open at him. _**"When you finally confess that you like Gladio."**_

Needless to say, Noctis continued to be pampered by his loving boyfriend Prompto while Ignis sat stuck in his own thoughts of wondering how he'd come to be degraded to such a low level of a small sized bird. Or how Noctis seemed to easily not mind the sudden change whereas Ignis was looking forward to turning back to normal. Could feelings of the heart really make such a big different?

He might have gotten an answer had he looked as the brown eyes partly open staring at his cumbersome form. Instead he hunkered down deciding that sleeping would be better than trying to figure this out now. Maybe once he figured out how they changed, he'd find a solution to how to change back. Maybe his dreams would have the answers for him.

TBC…


	2. Chapter 2

"Wark!"

"Hey hey! You're getting me wet!" Despite the words, Prompto laughed as he looked down at Noctis who looked up at him innocently, feathers soaking wet as he sat inside the bathroom sink. "Geez, I hope I wasn't this much trouble when I was a chocobo."

"Kweh."

Prompto couldn't help smiling as he reached down lightly rubbing the top of Noctis's head affectionately. "I really wish I knew what caused you guys to turn into chocobos this time. If it's not the weird water then it has to be something we have with us, right?" He frowned slightly before grabbing a towel wrapping Noctis up inside it before picking him up holding him close. "Do you think it's possible we were cursed?"

"Kweh?" Noctis tilted his head curiously as he peeked out of the towel and Prompto found himself following the action before he could stop himself. He still had the habits, maybe because he was stuck in that little body the longest? He wasn't really sure but he wished he could stop it from happening. Just like he wished he could have prevented Ignis and Noctis changing the way they did.

"I mean…like what if we went somewhere we weren't supposed to go? What if somehow we got cursed and we're doomed to keep turning into chocobos? What'll happen if we all turn into chocobos? We'd be absolutely defenseless."

"Kweh…" Noctis looked down thoughtfully for a moment before he looked back up at Prompto, the blond swearing he could see the confidence shining in Noctis's eyes. "Kweh."

"…I don't know what that means buddy."

"Kweh." Noctis wiggled free hopping down on the counter and looked up at him before he chirped jumping slightly, a tiny version of an armiger weapon appearing in front of him before he grabbed it the hilt with his beak.

"Whoa, you can still summon weapons?" Prompto asked looking impressed and feeling more than surprised. He'd thought that at this size Noctis would have lost his abilities. But it seemed he could still summon weapons to him. Could he still warp like that as well? "Wait, are you trying to say you'd protect me if we all changed?"

Noctis let the weapon go letting it disappear before he chirped nodding his head. The action made Prompto's eyes soften as he picked him up again with the towel hugging him. "Thanks buddy." He reached down rubbing the top of Noctis's head with the towel. "But I wouldn't let you do it alone. Hopefully we won't have to worry about that though."

"Wark."

Prompto chuckled softly looking down at the princely eyes staring up at him. "Let's go see how Gladio's doing with cooking, alright? He might need some help even though there are less of us to feed right now."

"Kweh."

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

"Wark."

"What? I put that already."

"Wark!"

"Alright Alright, you little tyrant." Gladio sighed picking up the pepper giving a twist over the soup he was making before he looked at Ignis with disdained approval. "Better?"

"Wark." Despite being a chocobo, Ignis still had this way of looking that said he wasn't impressed with the actions before him. Sighing again, Gladio did a couple more clicks of the pepper before looking at the yellow chocobo glaring up at him, lifting his brow at the bossy bird in return.

"Good?"

"Kweh." Ignis gave a solid nod before he walked over to another seasoning pushing it over towards Gladio.

"This too?" Gladio picked it up looking at the label. "This is basil."

"Kweh."

"…There's no arguing with you is there?"

"Kweh." He was already turning around looking for the next ingredient while Gladio dropped some of the basil inside the pot. He had to admit, the soup was starting to smell good though it did take a good deal of work to do all of this cooking. He tried not to remember the times he'd sat at the table watching Ignis's back as he worked declining any help in the kitchen as it was his own special haven. And yet here they were working together to cook a meal, granted Ignis couldn't have done it alone in this case anyway.

"Wow, that smells pretty good," Prompto said coming out of the bathroom, his highness peeking out of the towel wrapped around him giving a content chirp.

"Thanks," Gladio said looking over at him smiling slightly. "Guess it's thanks to my little helper here."

"Kweh." Ignis pushed over a couple of tomatoes for him before using a wing to point towards the knives.

"…He's a little bossy though." Prompto laughed at his words as Gladio reached over grabbing a knife to cut the tomatoes up. He might as well please the little guy some kind of way. Maybe it'd be a way of making him turn back if he could make him happy enough. "Diced or sliced?"

"…Kweh…" Ignis had this frustrated look on his face as he looked down at the countertop. Gladio found himself staring down at the little guy before he realized what it was. There'd be no easy way to answer the question when the chocobo couldn't even talk. It'd explain the frustration with the lack of communication.

"…Diced?" Gladio amended waiting for confirmation as Ignis looked up at him.

"Kweh?" Maybe it was just the glint of light on Ignis's glasses but Gladio swore the other's eyes widened then softened a touch before he gave a quick nod of his head in answer.

"Diced it is then." Gladio smiled down at him reaching down ignoring the confused look on the other's face as he brushed his thumb over the top of Ignis's head affectionately. It was a brief moment and he didn't wait to see Ignis's reaction as he grabbed a tomato starting to dice it up. He had a feeling this meal was going to be just fine. They wouldn't need to bother Iris with cooking for them though he had intentions of going to the lighthouse soon. If he could leave the two small chocobos there for safety while he investigated their little dilemma, maybe he'd figure out what it was they needed to do to fix everything.

Tossing the tomatoes into the soup, Gladio looked down at Ignis again missing the worried look that had passed over the other's face as he smiled at him. "What's next?"

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Just like babies, the two little chocobos fell fast asleep after getting their bellies full of scrumptious greens. The two of them laid curled up together on Noctis's bunk while Prompto sat beside them smiling at them. They were just two cute bundles of feathers, each contrasting in each other like yin and yang. Gladio was sitting across from him, his eyes also on the two birds as he frowned before looking up at Prompto. Right, Gladio had said he wanted to talk to him while the two were sleeping.

"…I'm thinking about leaving the two of them at Cape Caem."

"Whoa, wh-" Prompto covered his hands over his mouth when he saw Gladio hold a finger over his lips, his eyes glancing back at the two chocobos. Prompto glanced down too feeling relief to see they were still sleeping. Pulling his hands away, he tried again whispering softly. "Why are we leaving them there?"

"We're going back to that one cave. The one we found those weird potions in." He frowned hoping he remembered exactly where it was located. "There might be a clue to what happened there. We might have to do something to reverse the effects of the transformations." Prompto nodded slowly to his answer. So Gladio was thinking like him, huh? That maybe they were cursed with something…and that it might not exactly go away until they fixed what must have been broken.

"We're almost to Lestallum. Once we're finished there, let's head straight to Cape Caem. I'm sure Iris won't mind helping with babysitting duty."

"Yeah I guess that could work," Prompto said frowning slightly not really wanting to leave Noctis behind. But if they could turn everyone back to normal and prevent this from happening again, they had to take the chance while they were still normal. "Guess we'll be heading out first thing in the morning."

"I guess so," Gladio said standing up and stretching heading for the camper door.

"Ah, where are you going?" Prompto asked standing up too.

"Getting some air."

"Ok…" Prompto frowned at his back. "Just don't go changing into a chocobo on me, alright?"

Gladio chuckled opening the door slightly. "Relax. I'm just going to get a drink from the local bar."

"Ah…a-alright…yeah." Prompto laughed nervously. "Hurry back?" Gladio didn't respond already out the door as Prompto gave a sigh. Nerve-wrecking much? Well it wasn't like drinking at the bar would change him just like that right? Yeah he was just overreacting. Maybe he just really needed to get some sleep.

He looked down at the sleeping birds smiling softly as he took the sheets carefully tucking it around them. "Night guys. We'll get you back to normal soon, I promise."

He hesitated before climbing up on the top bunk laying down on his back and staring up at the ceiling. Things would go back to the way they were soon right? He had to believe it otherwise things might just go south instead. Closing his eyes, it wasn't even moments before he was breathing deeply fast asleep.

:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

He woke up once in the middle of the night after having a nightmare about the four of them being chocobos and getting chased by raging saberclaws. And while he sat up quickly panting hard and looking around, no one else had bothered to move. He was still himself when he patted himself down and looking down at the large lump on Gladio's bed, he could safely assume that Gladio was the same way. He must have come back some time in the middle of the night from the bar. Hopefully he'd be able to function by the time they got up officially in the morning.

It took some work but he managed to get himself back to sleep dreaming of the many adorable outfits he could make Noctis wear. Maybe he could ask Iris to make something for him. He was sure she'd take good care of Noctis and Ignis. After all, she was pretty dependable and was the little sister to the prince's shield.

"Rise and shine, blondie."

Prompto's eyes shot open at the voice finding the space in front of him completely empty. He blinked his eyes a couple of times to get the sleep out of them before sitting up looking around. He thought he'd heard Noctis's voice for a moment there, his hand going up to touch his head similar to how Noctis would do it before he smiled sadly. He missed the lazy prince's usual form.

"Wark?"

Prompto looked down at the sound seeing Noctis looking up at him before he smiled at him softly hopping down from the bunk. "I'm good." Kneeling down he picked Noctis up holding him close as he rubbed the top of his head gently. "Is Gladio up already?"

"Kweh."

"I'm taking that as a yes." Yawning, headed outside the camper looking to see Gladio loading up the Regalia, Ignis right beside him as a little helper chirping out instructions Gladio could no doubt not understand. "Is he still being bossy?"

"Kweh." Noctis nuzzled his face against Prompto's chest, the blond unable to help it as he smiled softly rubbing under his chin.

"I swear you just want me to spoil you to death."

"Finally up?" Gladio asked heading his way with Ignis in his arms now, the small chocobo looking disgruntle as if he didn't agree to being picked up.

"Yeah. I guess we're heading out to Lestallum?"

"Yeah." Gladio looked back at the Regalia frowning a bit. "I just got it filled up. I'm hoping we shouldn't have to stay long at the big city before we head south to Cape Caem."

While Prompto didn't want to leave the two behind at Cape Caem, he had to agree that where they were going was going to be really dangerous. He wouldn't be able to forgive himself if something happened to Noctis or Ignis. He had a feeling that if the two knew about their plans, they'd be protesting like no tomorrow.

"Maybe you'll find a cute outfit for Ignis there."

"Kweh!" Ignis shook his head quickly in protest. Gladio opened his mouth to respond before looked down at Ignis, a devious smile showing up on his face.

"Sure. Maybe I'll find him a pretty bunny outfit."

"Wark!"

"Oh that would be so adorable!"

Chuckling, Gladio agreed with him as he walked back to the Regalia putting Ignis in the back seat ignoring his indigent squawks. "That and a car seat hopefully."

"Yeah." Prompto sat Noctis down inside before he opened the door sliding into the backseat with the small birds. "At least until we can figure out how to get you guys back to normal." Noctis chirped looking up at him, Ignis looking at them before he chirped slightly as if finally agreeing to the words. Safety first after all. "Alright, let's get going then. Next destination, Lestallum!"

TBC…..


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long delay, between trips,a convention, a missed BTS concert I may live to regret, work, and FFXIV being updated with new content, x.x I've been really slow on the updates and on responding to the comments. But I really do appreciate all the kudos and comments I've received and have read everyone of them even though it'd be kind of awkward to respond to them now with so much time having passed. ^^; Either way, I hope you've been enjoying the story so far. Probably one more chapter to go, though I do realize that Gladio and Ignis haven't had any sexy time. DX We'll see how that goes.

_**“Touch him and I’ll kill you.”** _

_**“You do realize, Noct, that your threats mean nothing right now, correct?”** _

A soft chirp escaped Noctis’s lips as he looked over at Ignis dejectedly. He’d been glaring at every man and woman that came up and started flirting with the oblivious Prompto. He stood at Prompto’s feet with Ignis, the two of them following along as Prompto was carrying bags of ingredients back from the marketplace. 

Gladio had gone Shiva knows where, though he had an inkling that it had to do with some of the girls in the city. After all, Gladio liked to make a habit of escaping as soon as he got here. And while Ignis didn’t say anything flat out, Noctis could tell by the look in his advisor’s eyes at the time that he wasn’t impressed by the action. 

Right now, Noctis found himself glaring up at one of the local guys that had caught eye of Prompto’s petite figure and had taken advantage of the moment to corner the blond by blocking his path leaving Prompto to only talk to him or go back the way he came. 

“Sorry, I’m a little busy right now,” Prompto said looking up at the man as he side stepped preparing to go around him before the man moved to stand in front of him again. 

“Relax, what’s the rush? Is it because you’re babysitting these little bird brains here?” 

_**“Oh yeah? Come down here and say that?”** _

_**“…I’m actually at liberty to agree with you on this one, highness.”** _

“Sorry but could you not…you know…insult my friends like that?” Prompto looked frustrated, body already sweating from the profuse sun beaming down on him between the buildings. He looked hot and just a bit perturbed. Noctis wasn’t sure if that was from the sun itself or from the fact that this guy was being a major asshole right now. 

“Sorry…but it’s stupid to be hanging out with these dirty animals. Ditch the birds and just come hang out with a real ma-”

The word didn’t even finish coming out of the man’s mouth as a fist slammed into the side of his face distorting his features in that quick moment before he flew back falling down on the ground. 

“Kweh?” Noctis looked up staring at Prompto as the blond panted lowering his fist down, both bags of ingredients being held in one hand. He looked startled for a moment looking at his fist before he looked down at the two chocobo on the ground. 

“Sorry you guys had to see that,” he said swallowing a bit before he moved one of the bags to his free hand. “Let’s get back. It’s super-duper hot out here.” 

_**“You’re telling me,”**_ Noctis chirped in response grateful for the smile Prompto sent him even if the other didn’t understand his words. The three of them walked past the unconscious man on the ground, Noctis taking a brief moment to kick him in the cheek with a bird foot before giving a huffed chirp continuing on. 

_**“I hope that made his highness feel better,”**_ Ignis remarked not sounding the least bit like he was bothered by the action. 

_**“Damn right it did.”** _

Making it back to the hotel became much easier at that point and Prompto didn’t hesitate to flop down on the bed as soon as he’d put the bags down. He looked exhausted…he looked downright tired and sweaty breathing hard and rolling on to his back, his shirt riding up enough to show the sweaty skin beneath his shirt. Noctis cursed his luck at being a bird right now. His human self would have been all into that right now. 

_**“Quit ogling him. It’s mildly disturbing to watch.”** _

_**“Oh like you wouldn’t be doing the same if Gladio was here.”** _

_**“…I wouldn’t.”** _

Maybe Noctis talked him up because in the next moment, Gladio was walking into the room. The open vest did nothing to hide the sweat gliding down his open chest as he walked taking said vest off and tossing it on the nearby chair before heading for the bathroom giving a good view of the glistening tattoo on his back before the door closed. 

Noctis glanced at Ignis at the whole scene watching the other’s eyes following Gladio and the mouth that was partly open before he smirked as only a baby chocobo could do. 

_**“Hey…close your mouth before your drool runs out.”** _

Ignis quickly clamped his mouth shut before he frowned using a wing to push his glasses up. _**“I wasn’t staring.”**_

_**“…Staring so much you could probably draw the image from memory.”** _

Whatever Ignis was about to say in response froze on his lips as Prompto sat up quickly looking down at the two of them. “I wonder if we should talk to the witch in the woods again. Maybe she’ll have some other clue or something to how to fix this.” 

Noctis looked down in thought before he looked up at Prompto nodding. “Kweh.” It was worth a try. After all, what could they lose? Kimya had been somewhat of a help the last time for them. Maybe with two of them being chocobos now, she could figure out a link between them and this weird occurrence that kept happening to them. 

“Yeah, maybe we could do that!” Prompto grinned down at them confidently. “We’ll have you guys back to normal in no time.” Noctis nodded hoping that would be the case. He really was missing his human body now. Even though he was allowed to nap as much as he wanted and got fed by Prompto and pampered and petted and…wait did he want to be human again? 

Prompto rolled over smiling down at them before he sat up reaching down to pick them up and sit them on the bed. “Why don’t we get a nap for now? It’s been a long day. I can talk to Gladio about it when he gets out.” He glanced at the door causing the two chocobos to look too, Ignis showing particular interest as they heard the shower going. It sounded like a good idea. After all, Kimya had been the one to give him clues last time that helped in turning Prompto back to normal. He wasn’t exactly sure what made Gladio change back though considering that Ignis was still in denial about his feelings. 

Maybe just the fact that he was feeling anything at all was enough? He wasn’t sure. Just like he wasn’t sure about what made him change this time. Had it been nothing to do with the strange liquid at all? Or was it because of Prompto’s initial drinking of the liquid that instigated the whole problem to begin with. Not that he blamed Prompto for an honest mistake. 

“Quit thinking and go to sleep,” Prompto said smiling down at him as he pet his head. “You look like your brain is about to explode.” 

“Kweh.” Noctis nodded walking closer as Prompto lay down before curling up beside him. A nap did sound good after being out in that hot sun. Maybe just shutting his eyes for a few moments would be enough. The shower door opened, Noctis popping his eyes open just briefly to see Gladio walking towards his own bed wondering if Ignis was asleep or wide awake gawking like a predator. Whatever the case, Noctis yawned closing his eyes ending up as the first one asleep thanks to his baby body’s need for a cat nap, or chick nap in this case. 

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

_**“Hey.”** _

_**“Mm…”** _

_**“Wake up, Iggy.”** _

_**“Really, Gladio, is it so important that you must disturb me in my resting state?”**_ Ignis chirped out standing up as he opened his eyes looking down with a mild annoyance at Gladio. The other just stared back up at him from the ground beside the bed looking just a bit miffed himself from the look on his birdy face. 

_**“I’d say it is.”** _

Ignis stared down, his eyes squinting as if trying to register the problem before his brain caught up to what his eyes were seeing as they widened in surprise. _**“Gladio?! H-How! Why are you-?”**_

_**“Don’t ask. I don’t know what the hell is going on either. But I wish it would stop.”** _

_**“….When did you….”** _

_**“While you guys were napping.”**_ Gladio frowned up at him before he looked over at the sleeping Noctis and Prompto. _**“We’ve got to wake Prompto up.”**_

_**“…You’re right. If we don’t act soon, we risk the chance of us being stuck like this forever. We need to wake Prompto up and head to Kimya’s as quickly as we can.”** _

_**“Kimya?”**_ Gladio shook his head. _**“No, where we need to go is back to where we got that stupid water in the first place.”**_ The black chocobo with the scar looked up at the bed as if he were tempted to jump up there before thinking better of it. _**“Prompto should know that.”**_

_**“Wait, so you guys were planning on going back to that place?”** _

_**“We were…”**_

_**“Why didn’t you guys tell us?”** _

_**“…Maybe because we were intending to leave you at the lighthouse where it was safe.”**_ Gladio kept going before Ignis could interrupt. _**“The last thing I wanted was for you guys to get hurt. It was the only way to keep you safe.”**_

_**“…However, you do realize that if your plan was right, you would never have known without the two of us there to see if it truly worked.”** _

_**“…You’re right. I guess I didn’t think that through.”**_ Gladio sat down scratching his head with a foot. _**“Mind waking Prompto up now?”**_

_**“Fine.”**_ Ignis sighed. _**“Best to get moving while we still have one able body to do it.”**_

::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

“Kweh….”

“Mm…..”

“Wark!” 

“Kweh!” 

”Guys, seriously, I’m trying to sleep here,” Prompto said peeking open his eyes. 

“Kweh.” Ignis touched a wing to Prompto’s cheek patting it like he was trying to wake him up. 

“What’s wrong, Ignis? Do you need to go to the bathroom?” 

“Wark!” Ignis shook his head quickly before another chirp came out, except this time not from Ignis but coming from the floor instead. Frowning as he started to wake up a bit more now, Prompto sat up leaning to look over the side of the bed staring down at the black chocobo on the ground. Strange…Noctis looked like he got a lot bigger in a short amount of time. And when did he get a scar over his eye? It wasn’t until he saw the true Noctis chocobo chirp at him in his face that he put two and two together, his eyes getting large. 

“G-Gladio?!” 

“Wark.” 

“Oh god oh god oh god!” Prompto sat up quickly grabbing at his blond hair in panic as he looked around. “We have to go! We…We have to go see Kimya!” The excessive amount of protests from all three of them startled him enough to make him flinch before he looked at them. “Then what are we supposed to do?” 

“Kweh,” Gladio said from the floor. 

“…You mean go to the cave?” 

“Kweh kweh.” Gladio nodded his head. 

“But what if it doesn’t work?” He felt a wing touch his knee and looked down at Noctis then at Ignis giving a sigh. “Fine fine, but I serious hope this works. Let me just get everything together and we’ll go.” As he got up from the bed, Noctis and Ignis jumped down to join Gladio on the floor, the three of them following Prompto’s every step like the baby chicks they were. Prompto had to be extra careful not to step on them as he moved about the room packing up their stuff to take down to the Regalia. Though it was a bit frustrating to have to be so careful with his footing, he couldn’t dare get mad at their cute little faces when they stared up at him. 

Once he’d gotten everything, which he was very happy it wasn’t too much to carry, he looked down at the three birds smiling confidently. “Alright, let’s head out so we can get you guys back to normal.” The three of them chirped in response following Prompto out the door. He had no problems carrying the bags, especially when he was in such a focused state to getting everything back to normal. He barely even registered that he was checking out at the counter before he was rushing out the door, three birds right behind him to the questionable look of the person behind the counter who distinctly remembered seeing two birds and two guys before. 

“Once we get to the car, we’re making a straight beeline to that place, even if I have to drive overnight.” 

“Kweh.” 

“I should call Iris and let her know just in case the worst comes up. She can at least send help.” 

“Wark.” 

“I probably should send her the coordinates as well so we’re not stuck in limbo.” 

“Wark kweh.” 

“Guys...” He stopped walking and turned around looking down at them with a worried glint in his eyes. “I really hope this works.” He couldn’t even describe how scared he was of this plan. Sure, he’d get to live his life again as a chocobo and at least he’d be able to understand the others. But his fear came from if he changed inside the cave. What if they found themselves completely defenseless inside? They’d be easy pickings for the monsters there, and even more defenseless once night hit and the daemons came out. Even if he did manage to stay human, could he really protect all three of his friends by himself? 

“Kweh?” Noctis, he thinks, was the one that came up patting his boot with his wings as if trying to comfort him. It made him smile as he kneeled down petting the top of Noctis’s, he thinks, feathered head. 

“Thanks buddy. You’re right. I can’t be let this get me down. I gotta stay focused and believe this will work.” Prompto had another thought come to his mind before he blushed. “Ah…right…I should remember to take some clothes inside too just in case. No offense, but I really don’t want to be surrounded by three naked men when-”

“Something wrong with being around naked men?” 

Prompto tensed before he jumped up turning around quickly swallowing when he saw the man from earlier standing there with two of his lackeys. The man didn’t look all that pleased having a very distinct bruise on the side of his cheek from where Prompto had punched him and knocked him out earlier today. Had the guy been looking for him ever since? It wasn’t like it was hard to find a skinny, blond male walking around these days. 

Prompto held his hands out standing in front of the three chicks protectively as he stared at the man in front of him. “Look dude…I-I don’t want any trouble.” 

“Oh you wanted trouble the moment you slugged me,” the man said smirking as he started walking closer having a cocky gait to his walk now that his friends were with him. “To be honest, I didn’t expect you to have such a strong arm for having such a pretty body.” Prompto slowly backed up the closer the man got. If he could just back out of the alleyway they were trapped in then-

“Kweh!” 

Prompto gasped turning quickly before he could stop himself seeing the three birds having been grabbed up by some other cronies. “Guys!” He grunted out in surprise when he was grabbed from behind, arms being forced behind his back as he was shoved into the wall, cheek scraping against the rough exterior as he groaned out. 

“Didn’t I tell you before to ditch the birds? And you have the nerve to bring in another one?” Prompto struggled to try to break free before he froze up seeing the point of a knife being slammed into the wall beside his head. “I’ve seen guys addicted to chicks before, but definitely not like this!” He laughed, his goonies following up with their own guffaw. “Now you’ll see what it’s like to be with a real man.”

He could feel the man pressing up against him behind, knew exactly what he was talking about. And he could honestly say he was not the least bit ready for the thought of what was going to happen next, and in front of his three friends at that. Either way, the feel of the man’s disgusting fingers sliding underneath his shirt and brushing against his skin felt so uncomfortable that he actually let out a whimper in response. 

“Kweh!” It was Noctis. He knew it was because he felt the whoosh of air as the chocobo warped in his direction, sword cutting the man’s hand making him drop the knife with a yelp. 

“What the hell?” The man yelled. 

It worked as a good distracting though as Prompto threw his head back knocking it into the man’s face forcing the man to groan and let him go in response. He turned quickly kicking the man back from him before he summoned out his two hand guns, one in each hand pointing one at the leader and the other at the men holding his other two friends hostage. 

“Let my friends go,” Prompto said glaring up at the man. “Put them down or I won’t hesitate to put a shot right between your eyes.” The man frowned and started to move but Prompto was quick to pull the trigger, a bullet shooting out grazing the man’s cheek before embedding into the wall behind him. “That’s a warning. The next one won’t miss.” 

The man was holding the knife he’d picked up but at the shot he let the knife fall down, his eyes wide as he stared at Prompto, blood dripping not just from the nick on his cheek but from the cut on his fingers courtesy of Noctis. He changed his tune when the gun Prompto pointed at him shifted over just enough for him to know it was aimed right at his head. Swallowing he looked over at the lackeys holding Gladio and Ignis hostage. 

“Let ‘em go!” 

The two henchmen hesitated a moment before following orders and kneeling down letting the birds drop down to the ground, the two making a beeline to stand at Prompto’s side. Noctis still stood guard in front of Prompto, his sword still held in his beak as he chirped glaring up at the man like he was tempted to go for the neck next. 

“Good. Now get the hell out of here before I change my mind and take you all out.” As if in response, Ignis and Gladio called out their weapons holding them in their beaks as if by magic…which it was. He doubted the two of them, especially Gladio, could even handle using the weapons in their state. Though Noctis somehow was managing to look like he knew what he was doing. Either way, the unusual way the three birds were acting and the fact that Prompto looked like he had a death glare to his eyes seemed to be enough for the man and his goons to make a beeline out of the alley to escape the claws of death and feathers. 

Prompto waited until it was clear, until he couldn’t hear their footfalls anymore before he gave a shuddering sigh sliding down against the wall exhausted. The weapons disappeared as Noctis moved quickly jumping up onto his knee chirping excessively at Prompto with the most worried expression on his face. It made Prompto smile as he reached out hugging the chocobo close to him. 

“I’m fine now. Thanks, Noct.” He smiled softly looking down at the two standing there looking up at him with worried bird eyes, Ignis walking up to pat his leg with a wing. “Thanks to you two as well for standing with me even though I doubt you guys can really defend yourselves.” 

“Wark.” 

“Kweh.” 

Prompto smiled feeling more confident with the three of them there with him as he sat Noctis down and stood up carefully on shaky legs. “Well, let’s get going. I’d rather we get there before it gets dark. No telling what we’d have to face then.” The others chirped in agreement, though there was a look on Noctis’s face that still showed some sort of emotion. Whether it was worry or something else, Prompto wasn’t sure. It wasn’t like he could really understand them like this. 

He was grabbing his bags up heading out of the alley with the three of them behind him only pausing when he saw something of interest hanging up inside in the shop nearby that he thought might help with some traveling needs. After the quick shopping trip, he was packing up the Regalia and buckling up the chocobos before the four of them were on the road again in search of a solution to their current dilemma, hopefully before Prompto ended up changing himself. 

TBC…


End file.
